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Journalism of Courage
The unexpected demise of Wasim Raja8212;he died following a heart attack while a playing club game in England8212;saw some expected tributes from all quarters. Handsome, graceful, fearless they called him. While some saw him as the odd man out in the Pakistan team. In 1999 Raja quit being Pakistan8217;s coach as he wanted to be with school children in England and teach geography. While younger brother Rameez has held high-profile positions while being in the thick of things, Wasim till his last day has been in touch with the game at very elementary stage.
8226; Test debut: NZ v Pak 8212; Feb 2-5, 1973
8226; Last Test: NZ v Pak 8212; Jan 25-28, 1985
8226; ODI debut: NZ v Pak 8212; Feb 11, 1973
8226; Last ODI: Ind v Pak 8212; Mar 10, 1985
RAJA IN NUMBERS
8226; Raja is 19th in the list of all-time Pakistani run-getters
8226; During Pakistan8217;s tour of the West Indies in 1977, Raja made 517 runs at 57.44, topping the averages and outperforming the likes of Majid Khan, Asif Iqbal and Zaheer Abbas. In fact, Raja8217;s average of 57.43 from 11 Tests against West Indies, in fact, surpasses even those of Sunil Gavaskar 53, Graham Gooch 45, Allan Border 39, Mohinder Amarnath 38 and Allan Lamb 34.
8226; In 57 Tests for Pakistan, he made 2,821 runs at 36.16, with four hundreds and a highest score of 125. In the one-dayers, Raja played 54 matches and scored 782 at an average of 22.34 and highest score of 60.
8226; Raja was Pakistan8217;s one of the most dependable overseas batsman, who scored 1906 runs at an average of 37, in 34 Tests, while playing away from Pakistan. As compared to his overseas record, Raja averaged 32.33 at home and scored five fifties as compared to 13 outside Pakistan.
What they say8230;
He was the most gifted cricketer of the 70s. It8217;s sad to lose such a good man at such a young age. He was very lively and a thorough gentleman
8212; Wasim Bari
Talent-wise I think Raja was better than Sobers. Raja had a wide range of cricketing shots. He was a brave cricketer, who even scored against the mighty West Indies
8212; Sarfraz Nawaz
He was one of the most talented cricketers. He had such a wonderful style of batting that he had fans all over the world
8212; Mohsin Khan
He was a genuine all-rounder and always came to the team8217;s cause. He will be remembered for the way he faced fast bowlers
8212; Intikhab Alam
I grew up watching him and loved his style of play. We, as children, flocked to the stadiums to watch batsmen hit bowlers all over the park and for us, he was just that sort
8212; Wasim Akram
We grew together and played our cricket not only as team-mates but also as opponents
8212; Javed Miandad
The news of his death has left me shocked and I would like to express my sincere condolence
8212; Percy Sonn
I think after the age of 50, one should refrain from playing the game of cricket as sudden sprints, while chasing the ball, can lead to trouble. One has to take care
8212; Dilip Vengsarkar
BOLLYWOOD CONNECTION
Why even those who8217;ve got nothing to do with cricket, also remember the late cricketer
In the year 1979, when India was playing against Pakistan in Wankede stadium Bombay, Wasim Raja and Wasim Bari, they were at the crease and Wasim Bari gave the same considertion to Wasim Raja and Wasim Raja told Wasim Bari 8216;8216;look sir, this ultimately has to end in a consideration which I cannot consider therefore the consideration that you are giving me must be8230;..
8212; Amitabh Bachchan8217;s famous lines from the movie Namakhalal
